Notebooks and Notetaking

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Today we are highlighting another British Company/Brand as part of the April A to Z Challenge. I chose not to do Filofax for F – so I can’t possibly let L pass me by without doing Letts. Letts are one of my favourite diaries and I often blog about them in my annual countdowns. If you are practical, organised and just want to get things done without any fancy stuff – these are a solid choice as they are luxurious but keep you focused while still being affordable.

The name Letts has been synonymous with diaries since the beginning of the nineteenth century. In 1796, the founder, John, established a stationery business in the arcades of London’s Royal Exchange.The merchants and traders who frequently purchased stationery items from this shop needed a means of recording the movements of stock and controlling their finances. John Letts responded to the needs of his merchant customers in 1812 by creating the world’s first Commercial Diary.

The diary soon established itself as an essential feature of commercial life. The rapid refinement of the product, with the introduction of detailed information sections, meant that by the 1820’s the first modern style diary ranges were published.

Today, the company manufactures over 22 million diaries and is firmly established as the market leader supplying more than 40 per cent of all branded diaries in the UK and exporting to over 75 countries around the world

In the past few years, Letts have invested in machinery and fulfillment systems that allows them to offer a more personalised option. We now implement global contracts, which include a web-based order system, offering bespoke products, and added product personalisation which are then fulfilled to all regions of the world. Over 300 staff are employed by Letts at a 250,000 sq ft factory which incorporates customer service, print, bindery, and fulfillment on one site.

Throughout the years Letts has undergone a number of ownership changes and in August 2000 a Management Buyout team were successful in buying the company. Discussions commenced on October 2000 to acquire Filofax. In July 2001 Letts Holdings Ltd acquired the Filofax Group to become the Letts Filofax Group Ltd. LFG now comprises principally of two UK operations and eight overseas subsidiaries.

For me there is only one word that describes Kikki.K products and that is beautiful. Their website is a stationery lovers heaven full of love passion and eye-candy that makes you want to fill up your shopping basket with oh so many goodies.

For this reason they are the stationery company/brand that I wanted to share with you today. Find out more about them below.

At kikki.K we embrace the Swedish design principles of form and function to bring you seasonal collections of delicious stationery, gorgeous gifts and organisation solutions.

It started as a dream to create something I was totally passionate about. Now it’s a global journey as we continue to deliver seasonal collections that are statements of style.

We are passionate about helping you achieve the sense of wellbeing that comes from being organised in style, because we believe it improves your quality of life.

By saving time and energy, you can focus on the important things in life. If your life is sorted, your mind will be too – and what a fantastic feeling that is.

Since being founded by Swedish born Kristina Karlsson in 2001, kikki.K Swedish Home/Office Style has won a string of awards for excellence in retail, business and design. We are passionate about being a great place to work and are proud to have been recognised in the BRW Best Places to Work in Australia in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Kikki.K Website – About Kikki.K

Their stores are in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong. But thankfully – they do ship worldwide – but oh how I wish they would open a physical store in the UK.

A couple of months back I backed The Field Assistant Project on Kickstarter. It was shipped as promised very promptly and has now arrived.

I chose the Hummingbird design – and I have to say that it looks even better in real life. I simply love the design. The Field Assistant is made out of titanium and primarily acts as a Notebook Cover and is capable of holding multiple notebooks – although I am still getting used to using the elastic band to open and close it as I find this quite slow and frustrating.

That said, the product provides great protection for notebooks on the move and doesn’t really add anything to the size/weight of the memo notebook so it is still easy to carry around. It also doubles up as a phone stand which I must admit I have found a very useful feature.

I have not started using the Field Notes memo book that the product included yet and will post about this sometime soon.

Don’t forget there is still time to back other great notebook products on kickstarter such as the Magnote (which still needs a little bit of love) and the Hard Work Notebook. I am a proud backer of both.

In January I broke out my Cool Notes Notebook in red from teNeues. The hardcover is red, but what is even more special is the inside cover (pictured above) which is Bright Red and Yellow Zebra Print. It is awesome and totally brightens up your day. The notebook itself is a bright red and is a great alternative to a moleskine notebook. In this particular notebook the left hand page is blank and the right hand page is lined which make it perfect for this month’s monthly notebook. Other features include the ribbon bookmark, elastic closure and pocket at the back of the notebook. Again reminding me of a moleskine notebook.

There is a wide range of designs/patterns and colours available (both for the hard cover and the inside cover). See a sample of the range on their website.

Writing in the notebook feels great, the paper is smooth – I use my stabilo pen collection which glide over the page (and leaves minimal bleed through (pictured above). The pages of course are versatile and cope with writing, drawing, doodling etc – everything I pretty much need from a Monthly Notebook. For those of you who don’t already know – my Monthly Notebooks are notebooks that I carry daily to jot down notes and ideas. Each month I try to fill a different notebook with such goodies. You can find the full list (dating back to 2009) here.

Another monthly notebook from earlier in the year which I had not got round to writing about yet because I hated it. The Travel Passport Sized Notebook from Paperchase with Front Pocket was the usual bargain price for an A6 notebook at £1.75 but the paper inside the notebook was just wrong.

Unfortunately when the notebooks are wrapped in plastic in store you cannot see the paper to make a proper judgment on whether you want to make the purchase. So when I bought the notebook I was simply tempted by the purple colouring and the front pocket and cute fastening. The paper is squared (which I normally love) but the squares were just too large (1cm) and when writing in this notebook I just could not seem to get what I wanted on the page. It is rare for me to get exasperated by a notebook – but I did – and it is just as equally exasperating as I can’t seem to explain why.

So simply put, ignore this one and opt for the plain paper version instead – it is much more satisfying. Of course if you like large squares (1cm) this might be just want you need.

Well, I got it as a gift from my grandparents and thought I would add it to the blogging pile. The cover has a velvety feel (the black lines and magnetic closure are velvety) and personally I find the swirling patterns rather beautiful.

If it was an ordinary notebook I would be using it in a flash, without a second thought. Now I have to come up with a way to use an address book without using it as an address book…